Humble Groundnut Is Being Rediscovered

August 22, 1985|By Clara Renner, Special to The Sentinel

Many native, once-esteemed vegetables have grown unloved and untended in the woods and prairies of America. But, with more leisure time, more backpacking and camping, and more emphasis on nutrition, lots of lovely weeds are being returned to the table.

The groundnut (Apios Americana) is one of the humbler vegetables being rediscovered. In bygone years it was harvested regularly by Indians and early colonists. It also is called Indian potato, hopniss, wild bean and bog bean.

The groundnut name is appropriate, for this pea-type vine produces a string of tiny tubers just beneath the surface of the ground. These little brown ''nuts'' don't look particularly appetizing, but they are chock-full of nutrition. Analysis by the United States Department of Agriculture has shown them to be 13 percent protein, almost three times that of potatoes. Sometimes you will find only four or five groundnuts in a string, but often I've dug and pulled up chains of 20 to 30. Frequently you can find enough for several meals from one plant, but it does not pay to harvest too many at one time, for out of the ground they dehydrate quickly, becoming very tough and inedible.

As a survival food groundnuts may be eaten raw, but they are better cooked, as cooking softens their fibrous structure and reduces their starchy, sticky juices. The tubers also are better when eaten hot, for, again, they become very tough as they cool, but they can be reheated successfully. They are delicious seasoned with butter, salt and pepper. Since they are small, ranging in size from egg to hickory nut, I usually boil them in their skins and then peel them. Groundnuts may be fried like potatoes with wild onions or garlic. They make a good dish to accompany a pan of fish, and also are an excellent potato substitute in stews and soups.

This climbing perennial has compound leaves of three to seven alternating, oval, sharply pointed leaflets, and is quite inconspicuous among other wild vegetation. You may be attracted to groundnuts by the sweet perfume of their brownish-purple blooms. The individual flowers look like sweet-pea blossoms but are grouped in roundish clusters on a slender but tough stem in the angles between the leaves. When the flowers are pollinated by bees and other insects, a pointed beanlike pod 2 to 3 inches long is produced. These green pods may be gathered and prepared like green beans. Although tedious to hull, the mature and dry beans may be shelled and cooked like other legumes.

Because wildlife appreciates groundnut seeds, sportsmen equate good hunting for quail, turkey, dove and pheasant with the areas where these plant vines grow. Groundnuts thrive in sandy soil, and love damp locations along rivers, marshes, lakes and the edges of woods. They grow all along the East Coast from Massachusetts to Florida, and as far west as Colorado and New Mexico.